Preparation and characterisation of superparamagnetic conductive polyester textile composites

We describe the preparation of superparamagnetic–conductive textile composites by a facile, two-step solution deposition process. First, colloidal magnetite particles (5–20 nm diameter) are adsorbed spontaneously onto the textile fibres (polyester, nylon, cotton etc.) from an aqueous dispersion utilising a simple dip-coat procedure. Secondly, these treated fibres are then further coated with a conducting polymer overlayer (polypyrrole). We have characterised the resulting textile composites by a wide range of techniques, including gravimetry, surface resistance and magnetisation measurements, scanning electron microscopy, atomic absorption spectrometry, atomic force microscopy and Rutherford back-scattering spectrometry.